Bamboo Sketches
by Charity Lee Jennings
Our Community
Traveling for five out of twelve months has made for an unusual year. We are excited to be ‘home’ and although we moved in a year ago, feel like we are still getting settled. At least Brian and I do. While traveling across Canada and staying in several people’s...
We have an exciting couple of weeks planned, getting together with friends from another part of China who we haven't seen for over a year. We are also planning for some extra fun family time after seven weeks of homeschooling, right through the summer, to catch up...
Missing Sylvan Lake
After a day like today, I am remembering Sylvan Lake with longing. One of our many neighbours are renovating their apartment. In China, people buy just the cement frame of the apartment and then have to hire workers to do all of the renovations before they can move...
4 Filet-O-Fish, Please
I had put off going to McDonald’s for as long as possible, knowing that I wouldn’t be able to order the Mediterranean wrap that I had enjoyed in Canada. With no McCafe, options are limited but I had no idea how limited when I agreed to take my kids there for supper....
First Snow Pants
After winding our way through snow-peaked mountains, we found ourselves tracing backroads surrounded by white fields and never-ending sky, looking for a place even the GPS could not find. My aunt and uncle’s farm. When we lived in Calgary, Alberta we loved making the...
Beyond Banff
The beauty of the Rockies inspired me to pick up my sketchbook. I created this drawing of one of the many breathtaking sights we witnessed.
The Minority
minority noun : a part of a population differing from others in some characteristics and often subjected to differential treatment Merriam-Webster When the flight attendant called for families with children to board the flight to...
Blooper In Banff
Their jagged peeks held me captive as a child and I couldn't wait to show my own children the Rockies. We drove in awe, pulling over to take pictures of breathtaking mountains piercing the sky. Not wanting the drive to end we stopped in the touristy town of Banff,...
Creston, B.C.
Mountains covered in evergreen and dotted with snow surround me in a horseshoe. I look away only long enough to cover my Madagascar Vanilla tea bag in boiling hot water, it’s flavor seeping out and swirling into the water. Pulling the cup into both hands, I look up...
Zero Aveue
"Mom, how come all of our friends get to go to America but we don't," our kids asked me while we were in China. Most of their friends are American, so when they go back to visit family, they go to the U.S. It had been a few years since we had been to Canada, so I was...
Just One Question
The sun shone bright and warm though it was only February. We took a seat at an outdoor table on the third floor of our favourite restaurant. Our kids have taken to calling it “The Rat Restaurant” due to the rodents that run freely under the outdoor tables. It was the...
5 Best Things About B.C.
We got to be in B.C. for over a month. What a treat. Our five favourite parts were... 5. Being Surrounded By Nature In China we see towering buildings everywhere but not a lot of nature. The peacefulness of the cottage and the lake was so refreshing. I set up...